The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-06-18
OLIVES AND PRuNgs.
expensive Foreign Fruits That Can Bs
Grown Perfectly in This Country.

expensive Foreign Fruits That Can Be
Grown Perfectly in This Country.
The Treasury Department received
letter the other day from some South
ern man who advocated the raising of
olives in the South, claiming that it
could be readily and successfully ac-
compllshed. An examination Of the
records of the Treasury shows that a
good many million dollars worth OF
olives and olive oil have been imported
. into this country in the past few years,
and that the demand is constantly in.
creasing. The popular taste has been
so educated that olives, which few
years ago We're only consumed by few
are now a popular article of diet. You
Ind them everywhere At the lunches
and dinners in fashionable society they
are quite the thing, and the individual
who does not eat olives is considered
OF rather doubtful social rank or train
ing, In view of this fact, that we pay
million or so Il year for foreign
olives, took occasion to call upon
Prof Van Ness, the head of the new
Pathological Division of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, and had talk
with him about it. "There is no trou-
bic at ALL" he said, "about growing
olives in this country. They already
grow them in the South in limited
way; but in the West they are, doing
the most in that line. In Southern
California they grow to perfection.
The trees bear when they are only
three and four years old, and are fairly
a)aded down with the fruit. The
olives are of the very best quality, too.
There are many varieties of the olive,
and as many qualities as there are of
apples or any other fruit. The olives
OF Southern California are of the best
and the olive oil which they make is
equal to the best that we get from
abroad. There is no reason why. we
should send any money abroad for
oil cs or olive oil. We can produce
them, as we cunproduce about ailkinds
of fruit, in this country"
''1et we do send about S14, 100000 a
year abroad for fruits" Ia
Eyes, but we ought not to do so.
Now look here, v he's id, turning to a,
table just beside him. h Here are
prunes from the coast of Oregon They
are as fine as Ihave ever seen imported
from any source, and they may be pro-
duced in quantities to suit. Weim-.
port 100000 pounds, over 81, 100000
worth, of them every years Here are
rasins, also from the Pacific Coast, as
fine as the bestftliat comes to US efron1
abroad We import nearly 10000, 600
pounds year of raisins at a cost Of
about $S,000,000 There is no reason
why we should not raise every pound
of them at home. Look at these
oranges" he continued, pointing to a
long line of plates piled with the
golden fruit which came from Florida,
Louisiana and the Pacific Coast; ''they
are as fine as are produced in any part
of the world. There is no reason why
we should ask any other part of the
world for a pound of citlpn, yet wedo
import nearly 81 ,O00, 900 worth a year.
Bananas we can produce readily, yet
our mportations of these amount to a
couple of millions year. Even cocoa
nuts, which are supposed to be only a
tropical product in the strictest sense,
are now successfully produced in Flori-
da.- Washington Cor. Cincinnati Times.